IBM is one of the greatest technology companies to work for. I say this as I complete my 31st year at IBM. It is constantly transforming itself to lead changes in the marketplace and aways, aways puts the customer first!

Cons

Patience and understanding the interworking of a large, global corporation.

Many people to share blameMediocre all around.Some really smart people in developmentMost internal tasks can be executed via intranetIf you sell to government or a established account, it's an easy job (do not be fooled by he lure of new accounts it's not real)

Cons

Many people to share blameSales personnel is Ruthless and self destroyingImpersonal environmentDisconnected management. Ignorance is pervasive at the VP Level and aboveLack of resourcesFind the equivalent product elsewhere (there always is. And it will be more and more as the marker realizes the big competitive disadvantage of ibm) and work there.Pricing is unrealistic

Having the IBM name on your business card still gets you a seat at the table with many companies, both large and small. The company is truly a global organization, and there are opportunities for international work and assignments if that is something you want for your career - that is assuming that the hiring freeze that has been in place for most of the year is lifted...

Cons

Leadership says one thing, however they do not back up their words with actions. The company baits you in with what they call a reference salary - job seeker beware, this is not the salary you will actually get paid as (in most cases) you will be issued an incentive plan letter AFTER you start and will be told about your comp plan that be anywhere from an 8 to 18% reduction in the reference salary of what you were expecting. What this means is that in the event you ask for an 8% raise over your current salary with your current employer, and they give it to you, when you start, that 8% will actually be null and void as they take that back to incentivize you over and above your agreed upon commissions numbers - it is a bait and switch in my opinion.

In addition to the items mentioned above, the company can't decide on a direction, and therefore the are constant reorganizations. Since joining IBM in December, I personally have been a part of three reorganizations where my role has changed. Not only does this impact the customer, but it makes is almost impossible for a sales person or sales manager to succeed as their teams are constantly changing and there is no opportunity to actually build the pipeline necessary to succeed.

Lastly, the biggest issue of all (in my opinion) is the morale within the organization is at an all time low. This is due in large part to the items mentioned above, as well as things like IBM increasing your quota half way through the year with no justification, and making you move from a remote employee to an onsite employee, but also you couple that with the fact that IBM has experienced 22 straight quarters of revenue decline and employees wonder why we continue to try and stick this out.

Advice to Management

Being in leadership at IBM, I have to say that my advice is rather simple - we need to get rid of some of the leaders that are hampering our ability to actively create change within the organization, and start delivering on our word to the field teams. If we start to take care of our employees (which this motto seems to have been forgotten at IBM), the employees will take care of the customers, and the results will follow.

Lastly, I would recommend that when executive leadership does identify that a change needs to be made, you need to give the front line teams the tool necessary to succeed, as well as the time necessary to make the changes and see the results - changing things every four to six month does no one any good as you can't see the fruits of the labor.

IBM is a large international company with many divisions giving prospective employees many options to choose from and ample opportunity to work around the world.

Cons

I worked for IBM for 29 years. The company today is not recognizable compared to the IBM I started with in the 1980s. IBM has become a hostile place to work. Upper management lacks integrity and they do not value employees any longer. They do things to create the illusion that they do, but believe me, they do not.

IBM is run by Finance and IBM cares about their bottom line above all else. Above their clients. Above the quality of their products. And definitely above their employees. Here are a few examples of working in sales at IBM:

1. IBM recently reorganized in the US 3 times in 18 months beginning January of 2015. This realigned sellers (both technical and sales) with clients each time. Very disruptive. This caused many sellers to have to start over three times in 18 months. I don't care how good of a seller you are, it is difficult to create pipeline and close deals in a 6 to 12 month period in IT. So just recently, IBM pulled the performance for the last three 6 month quota periods for all employees. If a seller or technical resource had two halves, out of the three, where they were below 60% attainment, the employee was fired based on performance with no consideration of the impact of the three reorganizations. This speaks to my comment about IBM lacking integrity.

2. IBM is selectively laying people off under a program called "skills for growth". Business units are instructed to select a % of their org and lay them off with the ability to replace that individually with an outside hire. This is not performance based at all. It is a subjective selection based on politics. Regardless of your track record, performance or history with the company, you can get laid off if you are in the wrong place. IBM is essentially laying off middle aged resources in exchange for newer outside highers with no justification.

3. IBM is "over the top" process driven. To the point that process overrides common sense. Process is all that upper management sees and it disconnects them from what is really happening in the field with real customers. Again, IBM is ran by finance.

4. IBM Management is abusive and hostile to their employees. Yelling, f-bombs, irrational decisions and direction. Sellers need to be accountable but IBM has taken it to the extreme in a very destructive way.

I could go on and on but my advice to anyone looking to join IBM....DON'T. There are much better tech companies out there that will treat you with dignity. Also, quotas are not fair or rational and over time IBM will set you up for failure.

Advice to Management

Abusive, totalitarian management practices may work for a short period of time but will not cultivate and sustain a healthy workforce and company. This all came about under Ginni Rometty and for the life of me I can't understand why she thinks this is good for IBM or share holders.

You really work with very smart people, best of classExtensive portfolio of business solutionsMulticultural exposure and international experienceCan create your own path and re-design your career as neededEdge technology in some areasIf you know how to navigate the network you will always will find the top resource for every solutionCommitment to clients and stock holders.

Cons

It is strategically ran by CFOs and a huge bunch of bureaucrats that never had client or field experience.Too many old guys that already made millions trying to apply changes to adapt to new time.Too fragmented in different P&Ls that focus on their own mini-results affecting the whole.Senior Leadership is not accountable at all for their multi-year lame results and continue cashing bonus, while asking for accountability down and limiting truly organizational change.Ethics of firing people while cashing big bonuses at the top because of bad results.Disparity of salary structures.Lost focus on employees.

Advice to Management

A generational change at senior executive level is urgently required. All of the Band AA and A should go, as most of the band B. Company should get rid of most GBS Consultancy area and other low-profit services, and focus on technological edge competitive solutions to expand its market, complementary to Watson. Infrastructure Software and Services should be merged and offered on the cloud.

IBM sells in Silo's, doesn't "team" with other groups to sell to it's customers, does not get organic growth, and employees are just a number that are expendable every year in January to make shareholders happy and the balance the financials.

Advice to Management

Streamline the number of people who get paid on a deal by getting rid of people on an account who do nothing to close a sales deal.